


Lost somewhere in the dark

by Dream_Dropdistance1232



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M, World of Ruin Big Bang (Final Fantasy XV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:34:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29864379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dream_Dropdistance1232/pseuds/Dream_Dropdistance1232
Summary: When Nyx Put on the Ring of the Lucii, he thwarted a large part of Ardyn's Plans. When he survived it became personal. So he decides to hurt Nyx where it hurts the most and takes something from him. A dear friend, Natasha,  a member of the kingsglaive. After enduring torture, for over eight years she manages to escape. Not sure what is reality and what is an illusion, Natasha arrives at Lestallum. There she finds Nyx again, but she cannot be sure if he is just another ploy Ardyn wants to torture her with. But unwilling to let him dictate her life, and with the help of her friends and loved ones, she rejoins the fight and follows an attack force to insomnia. There the last confrontation will take place.
Relationships: Nyx Ulric/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The artwork done for this fic was done by the amazing Lynbaccha please go check this out and give them some love!!
> 
> https://imgur.com/a/SV6uwSY

Flashback  
\--Natasha's Perspective--

"How much does his love mean to you?"

I lay his head on my lap as I look down into his eyes, they show nothing but bitterness and the reflection of the fading light. Time is running short.  
There was no hesitation in my answer.

"Everything."

The devil in a human's skin smirks, satisfaction evident in his expression as he casts a hand towards us both, laying it upon the man I had given my life to. His eyes had closed. For a moment, I feared the decision had come far too late, but as the devil's gloved hand touched Nyx's chest, a beautiful, mystical light shone at the contact. It exudes resonating energy that even soothes my own battered body. I dare to look up at the man - this being - I bargained with, a serious and somber expression plastered on his face as if this considerate state was one he practiced countless times before. 

I could not come to grips with the dichotomy of it. This man who demanded everything from me, dared to act as a selfless healer? The reminder that he was anything but that kept me from hoping that perhaps he would offer me mercy in the end.

Before long, the light dimmed and the air around us both became dark once more. My world brightened for a single second when I heard Nyx gasping for air as if he was taking his first breath all over again before his breathing slowed. Relieved beyond words I was driven to tears. It was a miracle.

He will live…

"Thank the fathers…" I mutter quietly.

I feel a hand upon my left shoulder and immediately my body tenses. It was like my core was drenched in ice-cold water, as the reality of this miracle came to light. Fingertips of darkness creep upon my form, waiting to ensnare me within his patient grasp.

"Remember it is I, to whom you owe your thanks."

His voice was so close, His voice was so close, and his cold breath against my ear sent shivers down my spine. Fear spreads into my heart but there is another feeling entirely that keeps the other emotion from pounding in my chest. Fear grows in my chest. It threatens to consume me, but there is another emotion. One that keeps the fear at bay. Anticipation maybe? Or was it trepidation?

What life awaits me, now that I have sold myself to the devil? Surely, whatever horrors are to come would be worth the one person who matters in my life. His second chance is the most important thing. I look up at the man who now kneels next to me. His large figure still dwarfs my own. The only hint of light in the writhing darkness upon the expansive plains is the glimmer of his golden eyes. They seem to burn like candle fire searing into my soul. A sinister grin creeps onto his face as he bends down to cup my cheek, forcing my eyes to meet his gaze. Therein lurks the promise of fear, of anticipation, and the horror which were yet to come. He was so close to me, I could almost taste his breath as he seals the deal I made with him.

"You are mine now."

The wounds, the injuries, they have a way of boosting the most primitive parts of me and silencing the best. I am a stubborn one. Stubborn in all the best ways. I develop me. I say who I become. And so thought as I continue to fight the Nagas and the Daemon king I still feel the healing process, I remain brave, loving, loyal, and kind.

The creatures kept coming at me in ones and twos, their snake-like bodies coiling and striking at me and I knew it was impossible to keep them from hitting me all at once; fear kept paralyzing me especially at the worse points of the fight, the darkness was making them stronger and I was only one person taking them on stupidly.

The fight against the daemon king himself was no easy feat either and I was not going to allow myself to become something I wasn't and especially not to someone like him.

I pushed his hand away from my cheek. The soft crackle of lightning emerged and in a blind rage, I sent him flying. Once deeming him to be far enough away, I placed my lover's head on the ground and gently kissed his forehead. As fast as I could I reached for my weapon and stood up. I wasn't going to let him intimidate me.

"I don't belong to you!" I yelled. 

I quickly threw a shield up to protect myself from the stream of fire that came from the direction the man had been sent to, from my initial attack. I knew I had to be careful, as I didn't have that much energy left. The fight went back and forth for a short while; our weapons clashed and our magic illuminated the eerie sky. As if it wasn't bad enough, it started to attract daemons to our location. 

I could feel the fading pull of my magic as I warped to get away from the Naga's ensnaring coils and I could feel the status mitigating effects on my slender body and I had to recover and recover fast. Making my body as small as I possibly could I hid my body in an abandoned house and rested my head against the boxes that were there. It was getting harder and harder to fight and it was harder for me to concentrate.

More Nagas slithered out of the darkness, but I had to focus on the man in front of me. Because of that, I didn’t see the naga tail swinging towards me. My reaction was far too late. Pain flared and made me cry out as I collided with a wall and crumbled to a heap at its base. I tried to get up but felt a hand around my throat. Somewhere between my standoff with this golden-eyed man and falling to the ground, I had lost both my weapons. He tightened his grip around my throat as I struggled to breathe.

His words were falling on deaf ears and slowly I slipped into unconsciousness. My only thoughts were only with Nyx. Please, be alive…

I stare, wide-eyed and petrified, as blood drips from her face. She stops sliding her slender fingers across her throat and reaches for her shattered face. The diagonal, elongated slit drips scarlet blood onto her fingers and her ghostly white eyes just stare at me, the corners of her broken mouth turn upwards into a deformed smile. I can’t look at anything but her. She reaches out for me with her stained fingers clawing at me. From left to right she slices her throat. She stares at me for a second, attempts to reach for my face. I want to scream but nothing comes out.

Her broken hand touches my face and I start to sob as she caresses my face. she turns to face the grave I am sitting in front of, she looks, and her spectral gaze locks with my own. She opens her mouth in an attempt to communicate with me but all that comes out is a sickening, gurgling noise, she can’t breathe and she gasps scratching her throat which now has blood pouring from it.

She reaches out to me, all she wants is my help. 

I know I can help...

I regain the use of my hands but instead of helping her I place my hands over my face and shake uncontrollably. 

“Leave. leave…” I stammer with fear in my voice. 

“Leave, leave me alone!” That is all I can say as the sobs rattle throughout my body.

Silently, I look up.

Only to realize that she is gone…

Slowly, I woke up in an unfamiliar place. My head was throbbing and everywhere ached, my senses quickly adjusted and I went to stand up but something was stopping me from doing that. My hands were chained to the wall and my ankles were chained in the corners and I was feeling like a fish being strung up and waiting for the slaughter. 

‘Nyx? Did he get out of insomnia when I was distracting him? Please say he made it’ I thought as I looked around it was then it hit me on my location.

I was in the citadel dungeons….

I tried to force a small flame to my hand but the pain which ensued caused me to give up and I realized my magic was still limited due to my exhaustion. I didn’t care about my situation right now. I was more concerned about Nyx and the others, I hung my head down in silence. I was weak but I tried to keep myself positive but doubt started to creep inside of me. 

I can feel the sweat drench my skin, the throbbing of my own eyes, the ringing screams vibrating in my ears, and the thumping of my heart against my chest. My fingers are curled into a fist, nails digging into my palm. I cannot hear my rapid breathing, but I can feel the oxygen flooding in and out of my lungs. 

My vision is blurry, but I can just make out the silhouettes and shadows around me. Everything was aching and I was still chained in the citadel dungeons. I could still hear the taunts of the shadows that he conjured.

My mother died because of my inability to save her, her screams and shouts echoing in my mind.

My sister died as I carried her to insomnia's gates when we first arrived to join the glaive and all I can hear now is how disappointed she is in me.

And my father abandoned me and my sister when he could not bear to look at me…

"Well Look at you." A voice spoke and with whatever strength I had I dragged my head up; awaiting more crude insults and suffering but I could not believe my eyes when I saw who it was.

"Nyx?" 

I could not believe it, why was he here?

I had to keep my wits about me, but Something was telling me it was him; After I had saved him why did the idiot come back for me, I was angry but How could I be angry at him for coming back. He entered the cell and something in my mind clicked that this could not be Nyx and I spoke up. 

"Nyx?" I spoke up "Do you remember our first date?"

Silence filled the room, and it was then I noticed the shift in his eyes.

'Gotcha' I thought.

I turned my head away and tried my hardest to keep myself from crying. He had to use him as a way for getting me to break; I hated him. I hated him for using him against me. The taunting began, the same verbal insults and he started with my family whilst using his face and it was then he decided to say what finally shattered my heart.

"You know he never loved you," Ardyn spoke and he bent down to meet me at eye level "He just kept you strung along because of his friends; he never saw you as his equal."

That was not true.

I refused to believe it was true…

He just left me there and his laughter echoed through the silence and all it did was leave me with anxiety and dark thoughts. 

I dragged my knees up to my chest and placed my head down and allowed the darkness to swarm my vision...  
The grass on my soles is soft on soft, warm on warm, a gentle tickle as each giving wand forms a cushion of green. Each strand moves in the summer breeze as easily as my hair, the waves and rustling as alive as my steady breaths. I push myself to my feet and look around the surroundings quite familiar to me. I pushed through the thicket that surrounded the trees and I could see a figure in the center of the expansive grove was a face I thought had finally moved on from this world of darkness.

“Glaive Pennula? What has happened?”

I pushed the memory of the kings passing out of my head and softly smiled before explaining what had happened.

I explained to him everything that happened since the attack on the citadel; everything up until Myself and Nyx had entered the abandoned city to see if any survivors were around the area had not been turned into daemons and my unfortunate capture to save Nyx’s life. I looked away from the king as I tried to regain some composure, but I finally felt the tear that I had been holding in fall down my face.

"I was an idiot to challenge him the way I did I just did it because I was so tired of losing the one family I had." I had to say it because I knew I would never see them again to tell them to their faces and then again I probably would never see them as I was caged in the dungeons. The king I knew could sense my distress and placed a hand on my shoulder before speaking.

"You were not weak when you were on your own Glaive Pennula," he spoke with that same reassuring smile. "You never gave up when you faced danger by yourself and it shows in your determination now."

Just to hear the praise made me feel a bit better about myself and I tried to keep myself from losing my composure entirely. I needed help but I was scared to ask.

The King nodded knowing that I was scared to ask for his help, looking down at me he spoke. “Well, Natasha, will you swear yourself to my service once again?”

I nodded meeting his gaze without flinching.

“My life and my Service have always been the least I can offer, Your Majesty. Where do I sign?” I replied before everything turned to a white haze

I awoke and felt something in my hand; it was the king's sigil he must have given it to me to help me get out of the dungeons. I felt the power that the sigil provided and I grabbed the chain that was fastened around my leg. It was set alight by the fire spell that I managed to cast and I didn't feel the pain from it.

Getting up I ran to the door and used my magic again to blast it from its hinges, I internally freaked out due to the fact as it was noisy and loud and Ardyn may have heard that from wherever he was in the citadel. The first thing I knew I had to do was find my weapons and get out of there.

I ran through the dungeon in a blind attempt to find my weapons and I panicked thinking I was never going to find them, I kept a tight hold of the sigil that the king had left me and quickly found the weapons area. I went through most of the weapons and found my daggers and I found my main weapon shortly after, I had to figure out where I was going especially to get out.

Securing both of the weapons onto their holsters and placing the sigil in my jacket pocket I quickly ran through the corridors and got close to some form of exit before I skidded to a stop.

"Well my dear, I am surprised you made it as far as you have." 

I grit my teeth and took out my daggers, I did not want to fight him again as the injuries he caused from our earlier encounter were still aching but he was standing in the way of my exit and I let out a hiss of frustration.

"Just let me go Ardyn I am not fighting you again!" I yelled at him and the next thing I knew he had warped in front of me and I raised my dagger to block his sword. Using my shuriken in this space would have put me at a disadvantage so my daggers would have to do. The energy of his warp caused the hairs on my arms to stand on end.

it had been a few minutes but I managed to get to the exit and in an attempt to by myself sometimes and I did that by using my magic to collapse the pathway that Ardyn was in and using that time to get my bearings I took off into the abandoned city of Insomnia and the darkness that encompassed the world. 

It was not long before I heard the sound of five nagas and it was then Ardyn emerges from the collapsed tunnel and upon his orders, they started to chase me throughout the city. Adrenaline coursed throughout my body as I tried to keep ahead of them as they attacked me I used whatever magic I received from the sigil to keep them away and once I was on the outskirts of the city I stopped. 

Rocks skittered into the river below, I turned to face the Nagas though they were not with their master. My Only way out was either jumping or being killed by the nagas...

"You have led me on a merry chase, My dear."

Ardyn warped in front of me and the Nagas slithered around him like dogs waiting to attack and I assess my options and quickly. my eyes flickered around to assess my options and my only option was fighting I brought my daggers in front of me to attack.

"The chase is over, my dear you might as well give up," he spoke with such a sneer to his voice and I grit my teeth in anger before speaking the Nagas were hissing at me waiting to strike and it was then I realized my other option

"Not gonna happen Ardyn I refuse to let you win!" I answered and it was a split second later that Ardyn gestured to the closest naga to attack and as it lurched forward to strike at me I jumped off the ledge and threw my daggers to warp away. Within two bursts of regained Lucian magic, I landed on the outcrop on the other side

Finally, I was free...

Though Exhaustion was biting me like a rabid animal I got up and ran as fast as my weakened state could carry me. It was time for me to reunite with my family.

[](https://i.imgur.com/LZ2xzu0.jpg)


	2. Chapter 2

\--Lestallum--  
"We have no idea where Glaive Pennula is Glaive Ulric I am going to have to call off the search for her."

That was what broke Nyx Ulric to pieces, he was the one to call out for a search for the glaive who had gone missing for eight years now, and now Cor Leonis the captain of the glaive had decided to call off the search for her and now that he had said that Nyx was annoyed; if it was any surviving member of the crownsguard and their roles were reversed Nyx would not have given up for a second.

He didn't want to leave her behind not after all they had gone through, The glaive being one thing and now this.

"What's eating at you?" Crowe asked as Nyx entered their small residence in the city, Libertus had been talking with Pelna, Sonitus Axis and Tredd were all sitting on the chairs near the table especially those glaives who had rejoined during the darkness 

"They've called off the search for Natasha," Nyx replied as he took a seat in the kitchen. He did not want to tell them this news but they all had a right to know about the current situation especially regarding one of their own.

The others were angry and Nyx could tell that they were upset; nobody had wanted to believe that she was gone especially when the remaining glaive members were so few in numbers and the morale was low.

"Did Leonis explain why he called off the search?" Libertus asked to which Nyx shook his head.

Crowe looked like she wanted to set something on fire as did Tredd, the other four were quiet but to Nyx, it meant they were planning something either something to hurt the Marshal or something else within Lestallum. Libertus was the one who spoke up at that point.

"Do we even know how far they have searched," he spoke "Natasha had all sorts of hiding places within the regions they might have overlooked something?"

"Natasha did have a lot of areas where she could hide around the place but they would have been either destroyed because of the darkness and the daemons or overran by them," Crowe replied and that just made Nyx feel even worse than before, they could have potentially killed her and they wouldn't have been the wiser especially if she had been turned into a daemon. The seven of them sat in silence mourning for their lost family member for a few moments before turning their attention back to the plans Luche had been going over.

It was a brief rundown before the new and lower-ranked glaives had arrived to go over things with the seven of them; it was intense but it had to be to keep Lestallum up and running for the safety of those around them. Splitting into four groups they all assessed each other's teams; each group contained their leader, two front-line attackers, two mages, one trap specialist, and a shield specialist. They trained for a few hours before deciding to stop and rest before going off into the field to keep the daemons at bay.

Three hours had passed before Nyx's team and Libertus's team were called into action, there had been sightings of Nagas as well as the Serpentess’s from Costlemark tower and the Nagaranis were congregating around a certain area and it was causing issues for Cid’s granddaughter especially when she is doing her deliveries to Meldacio Hunter Headquarters. Both teams had quickly got their stuff together and jumped on to the transport to go to the location. 

This would be the first time that they were working together and the brief amount of training they had was going to show in this one mission together. The drive to the location was silent besides the mutterings of two shield casting glaives who, judging from where Nyx was sitting, were quite nervous and in all honesty so was Nyx.

“You frying the truck with your lightning magic isn’t going to help you know” Libertus spoke up after a short while, the smell of ozone infused lightning catching his attention and Nyx looked at him with an ‘I don’t know what you mean’ sort of look and his hunting brother in all but family blood just shook his head.

“We all miss her Nyx we can’t afford to think about it now,” Libertus spoke solemnly whilst he had been seen as Nyx’s hunting brother Natasha as well as Crowe was seen as his sisters given the circumstances both of them had come from and it made him feel as guilty for Natasha’s disappearance.

“I’m thinking about it because I should have told her how I felt,” he admitted before stretching back in the truck, his eyes flared in anguish and despair. “When we were last in insomnia, the pair of us I mean I should have told her how I felt when we were together but now I can’t because she is either dead or a daemon.” 

“If she is dead Nyx then fight for her memory she would want that more than she would want anyone to mourn for her.” Libertus finished and Nyx sighed, he knew his hunting brother was right and it was then he nodded. 

“Your right I’ll do it for her memory.” He replied with a smile and it was then the truck stopped, they were here and they were ready for a fight. 

The fight was long and brutal, the shield and spell specialists were keeping up the attacks on the Nagas and Nagaranis which were attacking from the left side of the battlefield whilst the front line fighters including Nyx and Libertus were dealing with the Serpentess’s it was a distraction to give the trap specialists some time to set up some traps and thank whatever astrals were still left in this world because the traps were helping. 

When the number of daemons was dwindling however was when the chaos truly erupted on the battlefield.

Coming from the left where the shield and spell specialists were a swarm of red giants came out of nowhere to attack them all, it was starting to become a major mess, the sixteen of them were not enough to take down the remaining Nagas and Nagaranis and now five red giants and the magic they had accumulated was draining fast. The two Mages were starting to feel the effects straight away as their lightning field spell began to collapse, the shield specialists were out of magic and had to resort to moving around and also attacking what they could just to regain some magic to properly work at their best.

The four front-line fighters were taking the magic toll the hardest…

One of the four front liners, Jenica if Nyx recalled correctly, got hit badly by a Naga tail and was flung into a wall, it rendered her unconscious and probably incapacitated for a while given how her leg was now bent at an awkward angle and Now, they were down to thirteen people and they could not afford any more losses on the front lines. 

“Libertus we need to retreat!” Nyx yelled, normally not the one for retreating but they had to at that point. Nyx had decided to run over to the front liner who had gotten smacked by the Naga tail, and in his blindness, he did not see the two Nagas that were approaching him to attack him when he wasn’t looking. It was the crackling shot of lightning that caught Nyx by surprise and the person who cast the spell.

“Natasha!” Libertus had yelled out in surprise to see the younger glaive there

The Ashen haired glaive warped forward and stuck her daggers into the skull of the Naga, gracefully and launched a blizzard at the other to keep them off Nyx’s tail as he got the woman away from the fight; all Nyx could see when he looked back was the raw fury and relentless anger in the ashen haired woman’s eyes and he could tell she was angry, and her anger was all they needed to keep the fight going. 

Once the other glaive had been placed on the truck, Nyx warped back into the fight and stood by Natasha who was more than happy to be fighting back against the daemons, and in the chaos that did end up ensuing within that area, it was easily cleared up. Natasha stood for a moment watching the others celebrate and she knew she was right back at home especially knowing that they needed her at that moment.   
All the glaives that had not suffered severe injuries or magical exhaustion made their way back to the truck. It left Natasha, Nyx, and Libertus on the empty field.

Libertus was the one who pulled her into the hug first. It was a tight hug as if to say Where the absolute hell have you been and, in all honesty, she missed every moment of it; the warmth and security of one of her brother’s hugs, she smiled and returned the hug telling the big guy she had missed him, but she knew that there was someone who missed her more and she knew it.

Upon releasing Libertus from his hug Natasha turned to face Nyx to say something in Galahdian Normally, Natasha would only ever speak in Galahdian if something were either troubling her or she did not want anyone to understand what she was saying; though she could speak Lucian like a knife would cut through butter and she waited for a reply. Nyx smiled before replying to her in Galahdian hugging her tightly in a hug. His head resting on the top of hers he had to ground himself to say it was not a dream and she was in his arms.

“I’m here.” He spoke into her hair as he could feel her tears fall onto his jacket and he did not want to let her go.

“Sorry to break this up but we have to go back to Lestallum,” Libertus spoke and made his way back to the truck which had the others in, Natasha moved away from Nyx and followed Libertus to the truck leaving Nyx to trail behind the pair before he followed. Upon finding space in the truck the three could hear the happy and excited chatter of the glaives who were awake, and it was Natasha who noticed that most of the glaives had fallen asleep in honesty she needed sleep too so when it was quiet enough, she lay her head on Nyx’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

Lestallum was quite a drive away from the hunter’s headquarters so Nyx and Libertus decided to catch up on their sleep also and It was then the truck was only filled with quiet conversation from the glaives that were awake.


	3. Chapter 3

\--Natasha's perspective-- 

"Returning home is more a sensation of the heart than of physical location."

I remember my mother telling me that when I was a young girl, the home you were raised in was made by the people you surrounded yourself with and not the actual location of the home. I guess that is what I could say about the glaive they were my home and my family, and I missed them terribly. I wondered how long the daemon king had me locked in the citadel for; I guessed if it had been a long time the reactions of Nyx and Libertus would make a lot of sense to me, but for now, I was safe and sound. 

The jostle of the truck stop caused me to jolt up and in turn woke up Nyx, sheepishly I apologized as I did not mean to wake him up the way I did. If I were to say I was not nervous to be around so many people again I was lying to myself because I knew that everyone would be surprised to see me, even if they thought I was dead or I was turned into a daemon. I watched as the new members of the glaive helped each other off the truck and made sure everyone was alright. 

Libertus followed them, giving orders to them to make sure they were seen too and to go get their equipment and weapons checked over by the citizens of the small town; I was very apprehensive to get off the truck due to the feeling of overwhelming guilt and never-ending anxiety but I felt a hand on the small of my back and a reassuring touch to tell me everything was going to be okay, I was grateful that Nyx was there for me at that moment. We both got off the truck and made our way to speak to Monica who had given Nyx and Libertus the mission and I decided to wait outside the tent as I knew I would cause a bit of confusion to a lot of people.

It had been a short while before Nyx emerged from the tent and gestured to me to head inside, I knew from the look on his face that I was either going to be interrogated by the marshal on my location or welcomed back with open arms and I had the feeling it was going to be the interrogation than the welcome back part so with a shaking inhale of breath I walked in to face my interrogator with a semi-positive outlook. 

I could feel my hands shake for no reason, I always hated seeing the marshal for some reason or another but now given the circumstances we were all under it made things a lot worse than usual. I could remember those hurtful words Ardyn had said in the citadel; 'No one will believe it is you' 'No one will miss you.' 'They would have forgotten about you…' I shook those thoughts from my head and then stopped at the desk where I saw the marshal and Monica and I just bit my lip in apprehension. 

"Marshal Leonis," I spoke with a slight waver in my voice which I failed to hide. "You wanted to speak to me, Sir?" 

The marshal looked up at me and dismissed Monica so he could focus his attention on me directly and the gaze he held with mine was truly terrifying. It was like being prey to a wild animal and it was eerie to think about what he had to say to me.

"Glaive Pennula," he spoke as he looked up to look me directly in the eyes "Care to explain why it has taken you eight years to rejoin us in this fight?"

I looked at the marshal with pure horror on my face 'e-eight years, eight years I have been missing in action and I was just finding out about this now.' I thought to myself and my heart shattered into more pieces, it just reaffirmed that Nyx and Libertus's expressions were right and I had been gone for such a long time. It did not feel like eight years had passed given that there was no light to separate the time and everything so I did my best to explain everything to the marshal.

I enlightened the Marshal that I had went back for Nyx after the fall of insomnia as I could not leave him behind I mentioned how the former chancellor was there and healed Nyx in exchange for me as well the first fight, I refused to allow him to take me like I was a trophy and in turn, it ended with me being captured and I described everything that had happened to me whilst I was locked in the citadel dungeons, I took out the king's sigil and explained that I saw the king in a dream-like state and he granted me the use of his sigil to get free. I clarified that due to magical exhaustion and how much energy I had used to escape I stopped at hammerhead before making my way to the fight that the others were at.

After I finished explaining I just stood at parade rest. It was to stop me from fiddling with one of my daggers or fiddling with my hands; I was finding it hard now especially after hearing how long I had been missing but I had to put it away in the back of my mind for now. The Marshal dismissed me probably best for him to process the information that I had given him with a quick salute I was out of there my heart thumping angrily in my chest. 

I looked around as soon as I got out of the marshal's tent and spotted Nyx, Libertus, and I assumed to be Luche by the weapon's vendor and I made my way over to them with a sad smile on my face. I spoke a greeting in Galahdian, and I physically felt so sick to speak in Lucian to all three of them; all three of them were confused why I spoke to them that way and it was then I finally let out the frustration.

"Why didn't you both say that I was gone for eight years?" I asked switching back to Lucian and directing that question to both Nyx and Libertus and they just both looked at me like I had punched them in the face, Luche was not apart of this conversation so he kept quiet which I did appreciate but I knew the others were not going to tell me properly so with a heavy sigh I decided to shut up about it. I was struggling to process it well enough myself and I knew I should not take my anger out on them when I was the one to land myself in that specific situation in the first place. 

With no words spoken between the four of us we walked to the apartment where the former Kingsglaive were staying, I was happy to be amongst the people who made me who I was as a person, but the time frame had been far too long and I wondered if anyone did remember who I was. Luche went into the apartment first followed Libertus then nyx shortly after, I stopped and waited outside hearing the conversations that were going on in the small dwellings it was then I stood in the doorway to the dwellings and spoke which made everyone speechless.

"Miss me?" I asked with such a sarcastic tone to my voice and I entered to the mixture of Lucian and Galahdian swear words which I could not help but laugh at.

I was pulled into a hug by Crowe and Pelna who were happy to see that one I was alive and two not a daemon. Luche just stood by the wall next to Libertus and gone into the kitchen probably to make everyone something to eat and celebrate my return Axis and Sonitus asked what the hell had happened to me for me to be missing for eight years and typical of Tredd he grabbed me in a headlock and messed up my hair. It then turned into a chorus of questions and I was starting to get slightly overwhelmed. 

"Guys Let Natasha at least get settled and allow her a chance to eat," Nyx spoke as if sensing my uneasiness to which I was profoundly grateful. It was not long before everyone was handing a bowl of meat and vegetable stew and was chatting and eating away yet I knew I had to answer their questions.

"It's not easy for me to explain this." I started before tugging on my braid and I fiddled with the sigil that I had shown the marshal not even a few moments prior. "I went back for Nyx just before this all happened in exchange for saving his life, I ended up being a prisoner of the Ex chancellor of Niflheim he used every single one of your forms to torment me into breaking and it was when he used Nyx's form that I broke," I could feel a tightening sensation in my throat which I swallowed. They all just stared at me with worry and concern especially Nyx as he was given me a look after I had said it was me who went back for him. "I ended up meeting the king in a dream-like state and he gave me his sigil I got some of my magic back and broke out of the citadel got into a few scrapes and fights before warping across the river to safety; due to exhaustion, I stayed at hammerhead for a day or so before meeting Nyx and Libertus's teams by the Hunter HQ. I was heading there to see if they knew where you guys turned out I ran into them on chance." I finished and took another bite of the stew. I had needed this so much since I had not eaten a lot of food during my incarceration.

"I'm going to make sure that ex-chancellor burns." Spoke Crowe with such a venomous tone to her voice a one I had never heard before in my life and that was closely followed by a nod from Tredd I could see the others getting agitated and I could not blame them in the slightest. It was then I could smell the odd ozone smell like something was burning in the dwellings.

I saw Libertus knock Nyx's arm and Sharply Nyx came out of his thoughts completely and it was then I noticed that there were small lightning marks on the table I could not help but chuckle as Nyx spoke up.

"We need to do something instead of sitting around and waiting for the next fight to come to us." He spoke and I saw Luche and Libertus shake their heads with that whilst the others looked confused. 

"We cannot even get close to insomnia not without the daemons getting close to us," Luche replied and I nodded in agreement with him, I knew from firsthand experience how the daemons were in the streets of insomnia and I decided to pipe up then and join the current conversation.

"They're over eighty types of daemons alone in the streets of insomnia alone and not including the Cerberus he has at the gates," I explained as I recalled seeing the giant three-headed dog of his before I was imprisoned and it was barking up a storm during my time in the dungeons probably because the three-headed beast was wanting to hunt something. "Besides he has something we do not have and that is Ifrit the infernian an astral for heaven's sake." I finished I pushed the stew bowl away as it was empty and sighed, I was getting antsy because this just felt wrong. 

"We just have to wait and see what the remaining years have to bring" Axis spoke though he was also probably thinking the same thing as everyone else in the room, and everyone nodded compliant with what the man was saying and I was shaking slightly from the retelling of the incident and especially thinking about what I had heard in passing regarding Noctis Lucis Caelum the prince or should I say The King, people were saying that he was still missing after all this time. 

I let out a stifled yawn as I was now starting to grow tired and judging from a few people they were getting tired also. Everyone went their separate ways leaving me and nyx still around. I could feel my eyes closing and someone shuffling me into their arms. I almost fell asleep as I knew I was safe in Nyx's arms as he carried me to what I assumed to be one spare room within the dwellings. 

I felt myself being deposited onto a mattress and I let out a small yawn in return, I was almost asleep, but something was telling me to stay awake and I just rolled over to the other side, I did not want him to see me get upset again. I wasn't sure how long the silence between us was, but I felt the mattress move behind me and Nyx brought me into his arms bringing me closer to a warm body. I just lay my head against his chest; just to hear his heartbeat brought me that little piece of happiness and I felt safer and more relaxed. 

I felt Nyx's head on my own and as I was about to fall asleep, I heard Nyx speak "I can't heal you especially given what that daemon has done, but I can help you to heal yourself. My love for you is like a meadow, a quiet place to reflect and learn. In the stillness, you can let the tornado that is your pain and suffering slow down, perhaps stop eventually. It is in these times you can begin to take steps forwards, to learn that life is okay. People do care, but we heal from within if it is to last. That skitter-scatter mind of yours is looking for solutions, a way to live in peace and thrive. It is the reason for your lack of focus. Your mind is powerful like the astral's wrath and it will devote itself to finding a way forward that works for you. The quieter I am, with the truest love for you, the faster you will grow strong. I know it hurts, and know I'm always loving you so very much."

I never knew he felt that way about me I just hid my face against his chest and softly let out the shake that was in my voice. It was a few minutes but we both fell asleep and remained the way we were.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:   
\--Natasha’s perspective—

The woman on the floor was lifeless. Lifeless. Her auburn hair was scattered in multiple places, stained with dried blood, crimson. Her emerald green eyes were wide open, but her jade irises held a sudden sadness. Her clothes, a lime green tunic, and some black tailored pants were bloody. Her body was slumped over, half-sitting, half-laying on the cold stone floor. And the smell. The smell was the most disturbing thing I had ever sniffed. It was blatant her bowels had been released, and all too soon.

Since I was a child, I had always feared the thought of Grim Reapers. With their tattered cloaks and skeleton bodies which I had imagined must have reeked of death and disrepair as they drag your soul to the afterlife. Most of my life, I regret to say, was filled with worry as if these hideous creatures lurked behind every corner.

Not until my mother’s life began to reach its end, her skin thin and tearable like paper with more grey hairs in her ruined head than I could count did I began to rethink the thought of these messengers of death.

In her final days in this world, a resurfacing thought would pass through my mind. Perhaps they may not be as terrible as I had accused them to be. If these creatures were so kind enough to visit you and guide you to the afterlife, how malicious could they be? after my mother’s eyes had adjusted to the blinding light that had enveloped her after her death, she took the skeletal hand outstretched to her gently without a second thought.

“As I leave you with these parting words, my darling child,” my mother spoke “if you only take one thing away, let it be this. Do not fear the reaper but rather greet him like a dear friend.”

The first instinct I had was to bolt up and screech in total panic and confusion, I felt tangled not realizing I was not tangled and trapped like a fly on a spider’s web, but something was keeping a tight hold of me. I pushed away and fell onto the cold floor before I heard a voice speak to me.

“Nat? You alright down there?” Asked Nyx as he peered his head to where I was now lying on the floor regaining my panicking breath, I glared at him before replying and Nyx tried his hardest to suppress his laughter at my fallen state. 

“Yeah, Just a Night terror,” I replied before jumping back on to the bed and hitting him on the head for laughing at me; he raised his hands in surrender and then just pulled me to his body and I lay on his chest, I felt stupid for doing it but I let out a content sigh and just allowed myself to lie there comfortably and feeling his hand gently go through my hair made me feel like I was a cat I closed my eyes for a single moment before I heard Nyx speak to me.

“Thank you for coming back to save me.” He spoke as he bent his head down and kissed my head and I smiled; my face was hidden against his chest and I mumbled out my reply to him, I knew he would not be able to hear what I said and when he went to ask me what I had said I leaned up and stole a kiss right off his lips. He just stared at me with a cheeky smile before I spoke.

“I would never leave you behind hero,” I told him with a confident smile on my face “You mean a lot not just to me but to the others and I do not think for one second anyone would be happy to leave you behind.” I just smiled and went back to sleep with Nyx calmly watching what was going on around us. We were not sure how long we were in the room for but there was a knock at the door, I shook my head to fully wake up and when I did, I saw Crowe standing by the door.

“Come on you lovebirds, the marshal wants to speak to two something about getting an attack force together.” She explained before walking off into the main living area of the dwelling and I let out a sigh before wiggling out of Nyx’s grasp. I had to ask Crowe for some spare clothing anyway and I heard Nyx sigh.

“Do we have to go?” He asked like a child who did not want to go to school and I chuckled.

“Come on Nyx we need to go,” I replied and pulled him off the mattress, it did not take us long to get ourselves sorted, I got some clothes from Crow as we were both a similar build and we joined the others for something to eat. As I sat and ate the food Pelna made I could not help but shake the thoughts from that night terror and the words Ardyn told me during my imprisonment and I could not help but think this was a prelude to something he was planning, and it was making me feel sick to my stomach. After eating we headed off to find the Marshal and as much as I wanted to say that whatever was going on was a bad idea, I kept my mouth shut. Walking through Lestallum with Nyx made me realize what these people had and what they were fighting for and it made me think of home.

We walked to the marshal’s tent and was allowed inside escorted by Monica and Dustin before standing in front of the marshal, with a concerned look he spoke to the pair of us.

“I am starting to set up a task force for a recon in insomnia We spoke at great length and we would like you both to lead it.”  
I swallowed a nervous gulp and then looked to Nyx who saw the concern in my eyes before speaking.

“No offense Marshal I am not ready to go back to insomnia right now Nyx is probably the better one to lead the group,” I explained and I was getting anxious. 

“She has only gotten back Marshal Allow me to go in her stead,” Nyx commented before taking my hand with confidence and I smiled to say thank you. The marshal looked at both of us and shook his head “Natasha has been in insomnia she knows what the taskforce can expect.”

“What they can expect!” I yelled and I felt the anger swell up inside of me “I was stuck in that hell hole for eight years and the daemons were hell to fight and you are expecting me to go back there!”

If it were not for me holding Nyx’s hand, I would have been out of there in a heartbeat and telling the marshal where to go and stick his taskforce, but I could understand where he was coming from. 

“You can pick the people in the taskforce I won’t stop you from choosing the people you want to choose but it is for recon and not fighting.” He emphasized the point of it being a recon mission and we nodded. 

It was time to go tell the others what the marshal had proposed and I was already planning my revenge.


End file.
